Rolling mill



Oct. 13, 1964 1.. PETEREIT ETAL 3,152,494

ROLLING MILL Filed Dec. 1, 1961 I s Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 1

Inventors Low/9e Perms/7' Ala-250 Ainctwse Oct. 13, 1964 PETEREIT ETAL ROLLING MILL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 1, 1961 C m i Z i 3 m F United States Patent 3,152,494 RULLKNG MILL Lothm lietereit, Dusseldorf, and Alfred Koecher, Soiingen-Wald, Germany, assignors to Siernag, Siegencr Maschinenbau G.m.b.H., Dahlbruch, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed Dec. 1, 1961, Ser. No. 156,422 Claims priority, application Germany Dec. 6, 1960 5 @laims. (Cl. 8t)31.1)

This invention relates to a rolling mill and more particularly to apparatus arranged to attenuate elongated metal stock by the rolling method.

In the operation of rolling mills having both horizontal and vertical rolls in the same stand, particularly those known as universal rolling mills for use in the rolling of slabs, there are a number of difiiculties which have been experienced with previously-known devices. For instance, in changing rolls, it has been necessary to provide an extremely high building in order to permit the vertical movement of the spindles and rolls by means of a crane; this extra height necessary in the building, of course, adds considerably to the initial cost of the overall steel producing facilities. In many of the prior art stands of this type, the removal of the rolls has been such a long and difiicult task that the down time or the non-producing time of the mill was prohibitive. Furthermore, the vertical geometric dimension of the stand has always been extremely great because of the fact that the minimum dimension was determined by the length of the roll plus the length of the spindle plus the length of the drive gears. One of the limitations present in slab rolling stands and the like is that, because of the width of the material to be rolled, the vertical rolls (which operate on the side edges of the stock) are widely separated; nevertheless, the rolls must also be capable of operating fairly close together on other types of stock. This means that the drive spindles must be extremely long in order that the angle of mis-alignment between the spindles, rolls, and drive pinions is not greater than can be absorbed by the couplings between the elements. Such very long spindles, of course, increase the height of the machine and contribute to much of the problem of increased capital cost and longer non-producing time during roll changes. These and other difiiculties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a rolling mill having vertical rolls which may be removed without providing extremely high overhead clearance.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a rolling mill having vertical rolls which may be changed very quickly resulting in extremely short non-productive down-time.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a universal rolling mill in which all important operations in the changing of rolls take place by means of automatic mechanism.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a rolling mill having vertical rolls in which the vertical height of the stand is extremely small.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a rolling mill having vertical rolls in which the rolls may be used at extremely wide range of separations but which, nevertheless, uses very short spindles without exceeding practical allowable mis-alignment angles.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a rolling mill having vertical rolls that does not require a high overhead clearance in order to change rolls "ice and in which an extremely short down-time is necessary for such changing.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a' rolling mill having vertical rolls which may be changed without removing the spindles.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto, the invention itself as to its objects and advantages, the mode of its operation and the manner of its organization, may be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a rolling mill embodying the principles of the present invention, the section being taken along the pass line,

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional View of the rolling mill taken on the line IIiI of FIG. 3,

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the rolling mill taken on the line IIIIH of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a somewhat enlarged vertical sectional view of a portion of the rolling mill taken on the line 1VIV of FIG. 2.

Referring first to FIG. 1, wherein are best shown the general features of the invention, the rolling mill, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown as being of the universal type for rolling slabs or the like and is shown as mounted on rails 11 and 12 which extend transversely of the pass line and which, in turn, are mounted on the floor 13 of the mill. The rolling mill consists generally of a main housing 14, a first drive housing 15, and a second drive housing 16 (see FIG. 2). Mounted in the main housing is a set of parallel horizontal rolls l7 and 18 mounted in suitable bearings in the windows of the main housing and provided with a hydraulic lifter apparatus 19, in the usual manner. Extending to one side of the main housing and integral therewith are side members 21 which extend in the direction of the pass line parallel to one another and spaced apart; the material to be rolled passes between these side members after leaving the horizontal rolls. Between these side members extend transverse rails 22, 23, 24, and 25, all four rails being parallel to one another and extending transversely of the roll pass. The rails 22 and 23 are the upper rails and are parallel to one another in a horizontal plane while the rails 24 and 25 lie in a lower horizontal plane and are parallel to one another. The surfaces of these rails are suitably machined to provide smooth sliding surfaces for the elements which hear thereupon.

The first drive housing 15 is provided with a finished horizontal surface 26 which rests on a corresponding surface of the rail 22. It is also provided with a finished surface 27 which rests on a corresponding finished surface on a rail 23. Extending upwardly from the rail 23 is a raised spline 28 which engages a correspondinglyformed groove in the drive housing 15 to prevent movement of the drive housing laterally of the rails 22 and 23. A wedge 29 and a wedge 31 lock the housing 15 to the main housing 14.

The upper facing corners of the rails 22 and 23 are formed with grooves 32 and 33, respectively, in which rests horizontal flanges of a bearing pod 34 which carries the upper roll neck bearing 35 of a vertical roll 36. In a similar manner, the lower roll neck bearing 37 is mounted for sliding movement along the lower rails 24 and 25. Stock-carrying rolls 38 extend through the rolling mill for supporting the slabs or other stock to be rolled.

Referring now to FIGS.2 and 3, it can be seen that the vertical rolls are driven by an electric motor (not shown) m in connected to an input shaft 39. This is connected to and drives a stub shaft 41 extending through the drive housing 16 and a stub shaft 42 extending through the drive housing 15. The two stub shafts are connected by a readily-releasable coupling 43. The stub shaft 4-2. is rovided with a bevel gear 44, While the stub shaft 41 of the drive housing 16 is similarly provided with a bevel gear 45. The bevel gear 44 engages a horizontal bevel gear 46 (see FIG. 2) mounted on a short vertical shaft 47 suitably carried in bearings. Keyed to the shaft 47 is a pinion gear 48. In a similar manner, the bevel gear 45 of the drive housing 16 engages a horizontal bevel gear 49 which is keyed to a short vertical shaft 51. So far as the drive housing 15 is concerned, the shaft 42, the bevel gear 44, the bevel gear 4-6, the shaft 47 and the pinion gear 48 are mounted in a portion of the housing on the side of the plane of the vertical rolls opposite the plane of the horizontal rolls, which side, in the no mal mill operation, would be downstream of the mill. The same position is true of the shaft 41, the bevel gear 45, the bevel gear 49, the shaft 51, and the pinion gear of the drive housing 16. The pinion gear (not shown) of the drive housing 16 engages a large pinion gear 52 mounted in the portion of the drive housing 16 overlying the other vertical roll 53. The pinion gear 52 is keyed to a vertical shaft 54 carried in suitable bearings and provided with a large axial bore 55.

Residing in the bore 55 is a slipper-type universal coupling 56 which fits over the upper, tongued end of an elongated spindle 57. The lower end of the spindle is connected by a slipper-type universal coupling 53 to the wabbler 59 of the roll 53. It will be understood, of course, that the roll 36 has its wabbler connected by a universal coupling to a spindle similar to the spindle 57, the upper end of this spindle being connected through a universal coupling to a hollow shaft similar to the shaft 55; these details are not shown in the drawings as they are repetitious of that described above.

Referring now to FIG. 3, it can be seen that a hydraulic linear actuator 61 is associated with the drive housing 16. Its cylinder 62 is mounted on side member of the main housing 14 and its piston rod 63 is connected at its outer end to the drive housing 16. It will be understood that the cylinder is provided with a piston, hydraulic lines, and valves for the introduction of pressure oil to either side of the piston in order to permit two-way action of the actuator. In a similar manner, the drive housing 15 is provided with a hydraulic linear actuator 64 whose cylinder 65 is mounted on the other side member of the main housing 14 and whose piston rod 65a is connected at its free end to the drive housing 15. In a manner similar to the linear actuator 61, the linear actuator 64 is provided with hydraulic connections and controls for two-way operation under hydraulic pressure. Rotatably mounted on the drive housing 15 in suitable ears formed thereon is a rotatable shc t 66 extending transversely of the pass line. Keyed to the shaft is a latch 67 which is adapted to engage a peripheral groove 68 (see FIG. 4) formed at the lower end of the spindle 79. Similarly, another rotatable shaft 69 is mounted on the opposite side of the spindle on the drive housing 15 and is provided with a latch 71. A double-acting hydraulic linear actuator 72 is mounted on the drive housing 15 between the shaft 66 and the shaft 69 and is provided with two pistons and piston rods 73 and 74. The free end of the piston rod 73 is connected to a crank arm 75 keyed to the shaft 66, while the piston rod 74 is attached at its free end to the free end of a crank arm 76, which is keyed to the shaft 69. A similar linear actuator, shafts, and latches, as well as a groove, are associated with the spindle 57 of the drive housing 16.

Referring now to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the portion of the drive housing 16 which contains the spindle 57 is generally tower-shaped and is provided at its upper end with a hydraulic linear actuator 77, which is provided with a piston and a piston rod 78 whose free end is connected to the top of the universal coupling 56 at the upper end of the spindle 57. The outer shell of the universal coupling 56 is slidable in the bore 55 of the shaft 54 and may be moved up and down responsive to pressure in the linear actuator '77; the actuator is provided with suitable hydraulic piping and valving to permit the introduction of fluid to either side of the piston under pressure to cause the actuator to move the spindle either up or down at the control of the operator.

It will be understood that the spindle 57, the universal coupling 56, the shaft 54, and the gear 52 are keyed together, so that movement of the gear causes corresponding movement of the spindle 57, although in the case of the connection between the coupling 56 and the bore 55 a sliding keyway is provided.

The operation of the apparatus will now be readily un derstood in view of the above description. The rolling mill is used to attentuate metal stock, such as slabs, in the usual manner. Each slab passes through the mill on the rollers 38 and the upper and lower surfaces are operated on by the horizontal rolls 17 and 18. Then the edges are operated on by the vertical rolls 36 and 53. When it is desired to change the rolls, hydraulic pressure is introduced into the actuator 77 associated with the drive housing 16 as well as into the corresponding activator on the drive housing 15. Movement of the piston rod 78 upward carries with it the universal coupling 56 and also the spindle 57. This disconnects the lower end of the spindle 57 from the roll 53. The corresponding disconnection of the spindle 79 of the drive housing 15 is made from the roll 36. Then, by suitable actuation of valving, oil is introduced into the hydraulic linear actuator 72. and this operates through the piston rods 73 and '74 to move the crank arms 75 and 76 and to rotate the shafts 66 and 69, respectively. Lastly, the latches 67 and 71 are brought into place with their engaging free ends lying in the groove 68 in the lower end of the spindle. The energization of the linear actuator 77 may be removed and, yet, the spindles will remain in their places in a high position with their lower ends clear of the rolls 36 and 53. Oil is then introduced into the linear actuators 61 and 64-, after the wedges 29 and 31 have been loosened and the readily-releasable coupling 43 has been loosened to disconnect the shaft 41 from the shaft 42. The energization of the linear actuators 61 and 64 causes the drive housings 16 and 15 to move away from one another along the rails 22 and 23. Eventually, they will be separated sufficiently to permit a crane to be lowered between the two drive housings 15 and 16 so that the rolls 36 and 53 may be removed upwardly along with their bearings and bearing-carrying devices.

It can be seen from an examination of this apparatus that very short spindles 57 may be used without exceeding the permissible angular misalignment possible in the universal couplings 56 and 58. Furthermore, the height of the mill is quite low and does not impede the operators view. Also, the rolls may be removed without connecting the crane to the upper ends of the spindles so that; a relatively low ceiling and crane suspension i permissible in the building. of rolls takes place almost entirely automatically because of the provision of hydraulic actuators so that the nonproductive time of the mill is reduced to a minimum.

While certain novel features of the invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A rolling mill, comprising a main housing, a pair of horizontal rolls mounted in the main housing and hav- At the same time, the changing ing their axes parallel and in a vertical plane at a right angle to the pass line, a pair of drive housings mounted on the main housing at positions spaced from the said vertical plane and on either side of the pass line, a vertical roll mounted in each of the drive housings, and means permitting adjustment of the drive housings toward and away from one another, the drive housing including a drive spindle suspended from one end in a universal joint and connected at the lower end to the upper end of the respective vertical roll and including a drive gear mounted in the housing with its axis vertical and with a large bore extending therethrough in which the spindle lies, the diameter of the bore being substantially larger than the diameter of the spindle, a drive shaft extending horizontally from each drive housing toward the other, the drive shafts being aligned and having their outer ends adjacent one another, a readily-releasable coupling joining the said ends of the drive shafts, means being mounted in each drive housing for moving the spindle vertically to separate it from the vertical roll, means being also provided for locking the spindle in raised position, the said means for moving the spindle including a hydraulic linear actuator which is capable of operation under power in both directions, the means for locking consisting of latches that are hingedly mounted on opposite sides of the spindle to engage a recess formed in the spindle and a double-acting hydraulic linear actuator connected to the latches for moving them from a first position within the recess to a second position removed from the recess, the drive housings being mounted on the main housing for sliding movement transversely of the pass line, each drive housing being provided with a double-acting hydraulic linear acutator for bringing about the movement on occasion, the main housing being provided with a transverse horizontal rail on which the drive housings are slidably mounted, wedge-type locks being provided to fix the drive housings against movement along the rail.

2. A rolling mill, comprising (a) a main housing,

(In) a pair of horizontal rolls mounted in the main housing and having their axes parallel and in a vertical plane at a right angle to the passline,

(c) a pair of drive housings mounted on the main housing at positions spaced from the said vertical plane and on either side of the passline,

(d) a vertical roll mounted in each of the drive housings,

(e) and means for adjusting the drive housings horizontally toward and away from one another, the drive housings being mounted on the main housing for sliding movement transversely of the passline and each drive housing being provided with a linear actuator for bringing about the movement on occasion.

3. A rolling mill, comprising (a) a main housing,

(11) a pair of horizontal rolls mounted in the main housing and having their axes parallel and in a vertical plane at a right angle to the passline,

(c) a pair of drive housings mounted on the main housing at positions spaced from the said vertical plane and on either side of the passline,

(d) a vertical roll mounted in each of the drive housings,

(e) means for adjusting the drive housings horizontally toward and away from one another, the main housing being provided with a transverse horizontal rail on which the drive housings are slidably mounted and wherein wedge-type locks are provided to fix the drive housings against movement along the rail.

4. A rolling mill, comprising (a) a main housing,

(b) a pair of horizontal rolls mounted in the main housing and having their axes parallel and in a vertical plane at a right angle to the passline,

(c) a pair of drive housings mounted on the main housing at positions spaced from the said vertical plane and on either side of the passline, each drive housing including a drive spindle suspended from one end in a universal joint and connected at the lower end to the upper end of the respective vertical roll and a drive gear in the housing with its axis vertical with a large bore extending therethrough in which the spindle resides, the bore being substantially larger than the diameter of the spindle,

(d) a vertical roll mounted in each of the drive housings,

(e) means for adjusting the drive housings horizontally toward and away from one another,

(1) a drive shaft extending horizontally from each drive housing toward the other, the drive shafts being aligned and having their outer ends adjacent one another with a readily-releasable coupling joining the said ends,

(g) means mounted in each drive housing for moving the spindle vertically to separate it from the vertical roll and for locking the spindle in raised position, and

(h) means for moving the spindle including a hydraulic linear actuator which is capable of operation under power in both directions, the means for locking consisting of latches that are hingedly mounted on opposite sides of the spindle to engage a recess formed in the spindle and consisting of a hydraulic linear actuator connected to the latches for moving them from the first position within the recess to a second position removed from the recess.

5. A rolling mill, comprising (a) a main housing,

(b) a pair of horizontal rolls mounted in the main housing and having their axes parallel and in a vertical plane at a right angle to the passline,

(c) a pair of drive housings mounted on the main housing at positions spaced from the said vertical plane and on either side of the passline, each drive housing including a drive spindle suspended from one end in a universal joint and connected at the upper end to the upper end of the respective vertical roll and a drive gear mounted in the housing with its axis vertical and a large bore extending therethrough in which the spindle lies, the diameter of the bore being substantially larger than the diameter of the spindle,

(d) a vertical roll mounted in each of the drive housings, and

(e) means for adjusting the drive housings horizontally toward and away from one another, a drive shaft extending horizontally from each drive housing toward the other, the drive shafts being aligned and having their outer ends adjacent one another with a readily-releasable coupling joining the said ends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,752,804 Kelberkamp July 3, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 709,382 France May 18, 1931 816,482 Great Britain July 15, 1959 

2. A ROLLING MILL, COMPRISING (A) A MAIN HOUSING, (B) A PAIR OF HORIZONTAL ROLLS MOUNTED IN THE MAIN HOUSING AND HAVING THEIR AXES PARALLEL AND IN A VERTICAL PLANE AT A RIGHT ANGLE TO THE PASSLINE, (C) A PAIR OF DRIVE HOUSINGS MOUNTED ON THE MAIN HOUSING AT POSITIONS SPACED FROM THE SAID VERTICAL PLANE AND ON EITHER SIDE OF THE PASSLINE, (D) A VERTICAL ROLL MOUNTED IN EACH OF THE DRIVE HOUSINGS, (E) AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE DRIVE HOUSINGS HORIZONTALLY TOWARD AND AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER, THE DRIVE HOUSINGS BEING MOUNTED ON THE MAIN HOUSING FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT TRANSVERSELY OF THE PASSLINE AND EACH DRIVE HOUSING BEING PROVIDED WITH A LINEAR ACTUATOR FOR BRINGING ABOUT THE MOVEMENT ON OCCASION. 